Positioning probes

[Pendragon]

Originally Posted by np247921

as the dimming thermostat maintains a 105f basking temp how will increasing the bulb wattage make the surrounding hot zone any hotter?As 4x2x2 is the recommended size of viv surely not everyone has the same problem as me?

Unfortunately alot of people have this problem, but they don't know it's a problem, or they just live with it.

The viv size should be chosen in accordance to what lighting and heating you are going to use. Alot of people say a 4x2x2 viv is what you want, but few, if any can give you the logic behind this statement. But I will

First off, the viv size. There is no max size for a viv, lets face it, the Oz outback is 250 million square miles, so these guys aren't agoraphobic. However the min size you can get away with is 6 foot squared, 8 foot squared is better, so a 4x2. but the hight is irrelevant, although beardies will, and can climb, they would be perfectly happy living their lives on the ground.

So with this in mind the only consideration for the hight is practicality for heating and lighting. You could get a 4x2x1, (8 cubic feet) but at only 12" high, this will bring the basking light down to around 6" from the floor, not very practical, and even with a 40watt incandescent spotlight, it will over heat very easily. however it would be perfect for the uv tube, as I sugest the min amount of uvb a beardie needs is 150 uW/cm2 (micro watts per centermeter squared) And a 10% reptisun or 12% arcadia with a reflector will give this amount at 4", (if you fit two side by side then you can double this distance). So you only need to get your beardie 8" off the ground if the tube is mounted on the roof.

A better size is a 4'x2'x18", this is 12 cubic feet of space, and at 18" high means the spotlight is 12" from the floor, and as the ideal distance between bulb and ground/log/rock should be 10" (i.m.o) this means you only need to get the beardie 2" off the floor. 12 cubic feet of space is also a reasonable area to heat effectivly with a 60/80/100/150watt spot (depending on ambeint temp of room the viv is in). And as for the uv, you can place climbing branches or logs/rocks very easly to allow him/her to climb the 14" (less if the tube is placed on the back wall) to the ideal uv basking distance.

Now the 4x2x2. this is 16 cubic feet of air to heat. this is going to be hard in a room that is 70f or less. if you place the bulb on the roof then the distance to the floor is 18". So to get a basking temp of around 110f the bulb will have to be so powerfull that the heat coming from it could over heat the viv, (cool end 75~80f). Using a lower wattage bulb means you have to get the animal closer to it, (remember the 10" gap I mentioned earlier) but this will mean the bulb wont get hot enough to heat the cool end of the viv to the correct temps. (the problem you are having I believe). And then there is the uvb, you now have to get the beardie 20" off the floor, not so easy.

It's all about horses for courses. So to heat and light a 24" high viv properly you need to start looking at the more specialized lighting, mercury vapour, or in the case of beardies, metal halides are better, These bulbs (again you have to get the right ones) will give you effective uvb at 8"~14", and with the addition of auxiliary lighting will give you all the heat you need.

So back to your question, you might be getting 105f at the basking spot, but the bulb isn't hot enough to heat the rest of the viv, so you have to make a bigger gap between the bulb and log/rock, this means the bulb will have to run hotter, therfor generating more heat, therfor making the cool end warmer

This is my 20" high viv;




Very easy to heat and light

Hope this makes sense

Jay